I made it to 40% in this audiobook, but I wasn't engaged with the story or the characters, so unfortunately I DNFed it for the time being. The gothic vibes and creepy island premise are solid, but I just found the pacing too slow and the characters weren't pulling me in. If you enjoy unhurried gothic mysteries set in the Victorian era, this may be right up your alley! Thank you for my ALC.

I listened to about 50% of this book and couldn’t ever get into it so I stopped. I don’t know what it was about the book because the narrator is very good but I found it to be slow going and I didn’t have interest in continuing.

Thank you for the ALC for my honest review

King Nyx is unsettling and incredibly thoughtful. American gothic Victorianism practically oozes from the pages. Memory, misremembering, and trauma are themes at the forefront of the novel, but King Nyx never feels heavy-handed or cliche. If you enjoy literary fiction with a speculative edge, King Nyx is a must-read. With conversations about mental health, lost girls, fair wages, and gender inequality bubbling under the surface, it's all too timely.

Bahni Turpin skillfully narrates King Nyx, slowly building tension throughout the novel with her performance. Turpin has narrated audiobooks for a wide variety of genres, including Grady Hendrix's The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires, Angie Thomas's The Hate U Give, and Tomi Adeyemi's Children of Blood and Bone, so it's no surprise she excels in the genre-blending King Nyx.

Rating: 4.5/5 Stars

Thanks to Recorded Books for providing me with an advanced listening copy! All the above thoughts are my own.

King Nyx by Kirsten Bakis and narrated by Bahni Turpin is stunning , absolutely flipping glorious. I have been comenting frequently how I love the burgeoning trend of strong fmc's in Victorian/ 1900s era fiction and King Nyx is a genre busting masterpiece. A Gaslamp Mystery with a dark, gothic overtone, King Nyx will take your breath away.

Firstly, I must give a special mention to Bahni Turpin for the narration here as it is absolutely top tier. Authentic to the narrative and not skipping a beat, absolutely brilliant!

The writing is absolutely phenomenal and I loved the audiobook so much that I really want to get the physical copy to read along. It is one of those great literary works that is a keeper to be read over and over, mainly on the power of the storytelling and secondly for the allegory of the foundations of feminism and empowerment

The dynamics between the couples send the narrative spinning, letting the story run, and then snapping back into a high tensile state and I was uttely mesmerised throughout.

I am off to order the physical copy, this book is pure gold!

Thank you to Netgalley, RB Media, Recorded Books, the amazing author Kirsten Bakis and phenomenal narration by Bahni Turpin for this stunning ALC. My review is left voluntarily and all opinions are my own

Plot - 3
Fairly evenly paced, but didn’t grab me the way I would have liked. I would have liked to see more of the gothic elements explored.
Writing and Editing - 3
Was able to follow the story and engage with the surroundings, but I never felt fully immersed.
Character Development - 4
The primary character had some solid development. She was able to come to terms with her past and establish some solid female friendships, which I appreciated. Unfortunately, she was written to be very dim and I didn’t love that.
Narration - 4
The narration was great!
Personal Bias - 3
This was an enjoyable listen.
Final Score - 3.25

Thank you Kirsten Bakis, RB Media, and NetGalley for my advanced review copy. My opinions are my own.

I found the beginning of this story a bit slow, but once it picked up, I didn't want it to stop. Even if I was internally screaming at Anna to just let those dang parakeets go. I really enjoyed how mysterious and spooky the story got and I was on the edge of my seat waiting to see what was around each corner. I mean, creepy life-size dolls are always a win in my book! I also enjoyed the narrator and the way she brought the characters to life.

Thank you Netgalley for the advance audiobook copy of King Nyx by Kirsten Bakis in exchange for an honest review. I really enjoyed this strange book. It was different than anything I have read and yet had an old, familiar feel. I think I will try to find more written by Bakis.

Unable to review because format of audiobook unsupported on my device ---_-----------------------------

I enjoyed reading this strange and mysterious story. The narrator pulled me into the story and I was invested the entire time. I really liked how the story unraveled and revealed what was really happening; in the past and the present.

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC of King Nyx written by Kirsten Bakis.

3.5⭐️ author storytelling
5⭐️ audiobook narration

This is a meandering tale that got a bit lost in the telling at times. It felt like it would be a great play with big characters and haunting undertones.

To begin we meet Anna, the widow of Charlie who was an author of books about scientific oddities. She is devoted to him and sacrifices her comforts for his dream of being a respected author.

Anna takes the reader of a journey of memories when she and her husband Charles are invited to be the guests of a wealthy man, Mr. Aukel. His manor is on an island and has a school for rehabilitating troubled young teen girls.

On their travels to the island, Anna learns that there are girls who have gone missing.

This book held creepy promise at the beginning as the reader is not entirely sure of the mental health of the parties in the tale; however, it gets a bit busy and rambling. The ending is satisfying and speaks of themes of self acceptance and family.

Trigger warnings: child abuse, murder, mental illness.

As I listened to this book I couldn’t help but feel like I was watching a play in a theater. It gave me theater vibes & I thoroughly enjoyed it. It kept my interest the entire time, had me trying to guess where Mary had gone & were there actually ghosts on this island. It came together in the end with those ah-ha moments unfolding. The twin parakeets were a cute little addition to the book when things started to get a little intense but not too intense. Stella by far was my favorite in this story, she seems like someone who just says what she wants, I love that!

The cover & title is what made me want to listen to this book. I think it’s a gorgeous cover & the title is perfect!